Quote:
Originally Posted by Shifty86
Phil Mickelson is 52 and just finished 2nd in the Masters.
Ah yes, the amateur argument that if somebody else can do something at 52 then Tiger can do the same. I laugh every time I see it.
But let's see now, how many surgeries has Tiger had over the years? How many has Phil had? How many times has Tiger had to WD due to injury? How many has Phil?
But what non-golfers will never understand is the difference in swings between somebody like Tiger and somebody like Phil. Tiger's swing stresses his body tremendously and always has. So much so he had his first knee surgery as a teenager. Phil's swing is loose, long, and languid. It puts next to no stress on his body as far as golf swings go. No different than guys like Tom Watson and Vijay Singh. Guys with long, loose swings can compete so much longer that guys with the loaded quick twitch modern swing.
Look at the guys winning on the PGA Tour Champions, how many have swings that overly stress their body?
And the problem with Tiger isn't his swing per se, it's the fact that his body will always be betraying him going forward. At present, he can barely walk a course under optimal conditions. A course like Augusta is brutal for guys half his age to walk. Then throw in things like cold and rain and playing more than 18 holes in one day.
There's exactly one situation where Tiger would have even a shred of a chance of winning again.
1, a course he knows like the back of his hand
2, warm, dry weather for the entire week, not just the four tournament days
3, An early/late draw the first two days. This way he has almost 24 hours between rounds 1 and 2 and then if near the lead a later afternoon tee time on days 3 and 4.
4, no flare up of any injuries
5, he has to play his best
At least all those things have to happen for him to have a chance, and even if he does accomplish all that he could still get beaten by someone who simply plays better.
What is pretty impressive at present is that he can still hit it 300+ with a weak, wipe cut swing. There's more timing in that move than he would like, but it's what his body will allow.
And by the way, whatever happened to your statement that his Seal training would be able to carry him through anything? Didn't work out too well this week did it? But unfortunately, that's what will be happening all too often going forward.